What is not available online is not worth reading?

Jamali, Hamid R. (2008).   "What is not available online is not worth reading?"   Webology, 5(4), Article 63. Retrieved: August 1, 2009 at http://www.webology.ir/2008/v5n4/a63.html

ABSTRACT:

Scientists and astronomers' quest for information is more reliant on online access. They rather want to have a PDF copy of an article and save / print it rather than go to a library and access the physical copy. In the survey conducted, most respondents had the library as the second option, but a number of respondents had this notion, "If an article is not available online, it's probably not worth the effort to obtain it."

MY THOUGHTS / REFLECTION:

> Physics and astronomy are among pioneer fields in scholarly communication and electronic publishing and the rate of online availability is very high.

> A pressure in publisher, information providers and librarians to make more and more information available in digital format.

> Ease of access and the principle of least effort play a part in the choice of information sources.

When the new technology was introduced and integrated in providing library services, librarians were faced with the challenge of coping and being familiar with it. Librarians were required to shift from a simple typewriter to a more interactive computer. Now, librarians are again faced with the challenge of providing not just books or journals but digital format of information as well. I often receive requests from my clients to make a PDF copy of the journal holdings of our library, but, there are issues and concerns (copyright, subscription, access, etc.) that I need to consider before I can actually say "yes" to this request. I guess there's nothing wrong with making journal articles available online / digitally as long as the respect and credit for creators and publishers remains. More importantly, I as a librarian should prove to my clients that this statement is not true, "What is not available online is not worth reading."